STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- NEW: DNA evidence says remains found under parking lot are those of Richard III
- Archaeologists found the body of a man buried beneath a car park in Leicester last year
- DNA tests confirm "beyond reasonable doubt" the identity of the bones
- Supporters of Richard III hope the discovery will mean history has to be rewritten
They are convinced "beyond reasonable doubt" that a skeleton found
during an archaeological dig in Leicester, central England, last August
is that of the former king, who was killed at the Battle of Bosworth
Field in 1485.
Mitochondrial DNA
extracted from the bones was matched to Michael Ibsen, a Canadian
cabinetmaker and direct descendant of Richard III's sister, Anne of
York, and a second distant relative, who wishes to remain anonymous.
Experts say other
evidence -- including battle wounds and signs of scoliosis, or curvature
of the spine -- found during the search and the more than four months
of tests since strongly support the DNA findings -- and suggest that
history's view of the king as a hunchbacked villain may have to be
rewritten.
Tracking down Richard III's remains
Skeletal remains are of Richard III
Ibsen said he reacted
with "stunned silence" when told the closely-guarded results. "I never
thought I'd be a match, and certainly not that it would be so close, but
the results look like a carbon copy," he told reporters.
The skeleton was
discovered buried among the remains of what was once the city's
Greyfriars friary. After centuries of demolition and rebuilding work,
the grave's exact location had been lost to history, and there were even
reports that the defeated monarch's body had been dug up and thrown
into a nearby river.
The remains will be
reburied in Leicester Cathedral, close to the site of his original
grave, once the full analysis of the bones is completed.
Richard III's body was
found in a roughly-hewn grave, which experts say was too small for the
body, forcing it to be squeezed in to an unusual position.
Its feet had been lost
at some point in the intervening five centuries, but the rest of the
bones were in good condition, which archaeologists and historians say
was incredibly lucky, given how close later building work came to them
-- brick foundations ran alongside part of the trench, within inches of
the body.
What was initially
thought to be a barbed arrowhead found among the dead king's vertebrae
turned out instead to be a Roman nail, disturbed from an earlier level
of excavation.
Archaeologists say their
examination of the skeleton shows Richard met a violent death: They
found evidence of 10 wounds -- eight to the head and two to the body --
which they believe were inflicted at or around the time of death.
"The skull was in good
condition, although fragile, and was able to give us detailed
information," said bioarchaeologist Jo Appleby, who led the exhumation
of the remains last year.
The king had suffered
two severe blows to the head, either of which would have been fatal,
according to Appleby. The injuries suggest that he had lost his helmet
in the course of his last bloody battle.
Appleby said there were
also signs that Richard's corpse was mistreated after his death, with
evidence of several "humiliation injuries," which fitted in with
historical records of the body being displayed, naked, in Leicester
before being laid to rest.
Richard Buckley, the
lead archaeologist on the project said the unusual position of the
skeleton's arms and hands suggested he may have been buried with his
hands tied.
Investigators from the University of Leicester had been examining the remains for months.
Others got their first
glimpse of the battle-scarred skull that may have once worn the English
crown early Monday when the university released a photograph ahead of
its announcement.
Turi King, who carried out the DNA analysis, said it was a "real relief" when the results came through.
"I went really quiet. I
was seeing all these matches coming back, thinking, 'That's a match, and
that's a match, and that's a match.' At that point I did a little dance
around the lab."
King pointed out that
"in a generation's time, the DNA match would not have been possible,
since both individuals used in the tests are the last of their line," a
fact echoed by Ibsen, who told CNN before the results came through that
"they caught us just in time."
The initial discovery of
the remains provoked much debate in Britain as to what would happen
with the body, if it were proven to be that of Richard III, with many
calling for a state funeral at Westminster Abbey, and others backing a
burial in York Minster, in keeping with the king's heritage as a member
of the House of York.
But on Monday those
involved in the search said he would be reinterred in Leicester
Cathedral, the closest church to the original grave site in a memorial
service expected to be held early next year.
Canon Chancellor David
Monteith said it was important to remember that as well as being the
subject of important historical and scientific research, the skeleton
also represented "the mortal remains of a person, an annointed Christian
king," and as such should be treated with dignity.
Supporters of the
infamous king, including members of the Richard III Society, hope the
discovery will now force academics to re-examine history, which they say
has been tainted by exaggerations and false claims about Richard III
since the Tudor era.
Screenwriter Philippa
Langley, who championed the search for several years, told CNN she
wanted "the establishment to look again at his story," saying she wanted
to uncover the truth about "the real Richard, before the Tudor writers
got to him."
"This has been an
extraordinary journey of discovery," Langley said. "We came with a dream
and today that dream has been realized. This is an historic moment that
will rewrite the history books."
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